~ CARA ~
“Do you have any dresses that are formal?”
I stood in the doorway to Meg’s room, heart fluttering in panic.
Meg gaped at me. “I have like one, but I don’t think it would fit you in the chest and besides, I don’t think peach is really your color.”
I slumped. “You’re right. I didn’t think about that. Damn. I didn’t think about any of this. I’ve only got ninety minutes. I’m going to have to tell Mack I can’t go.”
“Rig should have been the one to ask you, anyway,” Meg said, her forehead furrowed.
“Wait—what?!”
A
~ CARA ~“…so, I mean, imagine this: Rig is standing there, naked, with his mouth open, and his mom’s staring at him and he goes, “It’s not what it looks like, I swear.” And we’re all rolling.”The passenger seat of the car, I was laughing so hard my sides ached. “Stop. You have to stop. I’m going to cry and ruin my makeup,” I gasped.“You should. You don’t need all that crap on your face,” Mack said, his eyes bright and smile more relaxed than I’d ever seen it. He turned to wink at me before turning back to the road.Still giggling, I flipped the sun visor down and wiped my eyes carefully. &ldqu
~ RIG ~As the two females, glittering and giggling, left my table, both casting glances at me over their shoulders, I smiled tightly and waved, waiting until they’d passed behind one of the big pillars in the cathedral-style ballroom before sitting back in my chair and clawing a hand through my hair.Fuck I hated these things.White tablecloths, chandeliers, snooty human servants bringing drinks and serving at the food table, everyone dressed in their finest and trying to out-handsome, or out-beautiful each other… Wolf gatherings were so stuck up and… political.I was the Alpha King’s heir, which meant every eye was on me, all the time. But especially tonight. Tonight they all knew they were competing for my attention, and my father’s app
~ CARA (Minutes Earlier) ~Why hadn’t Rig told me about Natalie? Why hadn’t he admitted that his parents had picked her for him?The questions that I couldn’t answer kept circling my brain, faster and faster, as we drove.I had tried not to betray how afraid I was, but I knew I was distracted and tense—and that Mack could tell. He’d been very kind and gentle, turning on music so I didn’t feel obliged to talk, and giving me warning when we got close to the hotel.“Just relax, it’s probably going to be fine,” he’d said softly as we pulled into the parking lot.“But what if it’s not?”Mack turned to me with
~ CARA ~I went completely still. My entire body feeling like even the slightest touch or movement might shatter me into a thousand pieces.Rig gripped Natalie’s arms tightly. When he pulled back from the kiss, his face dark, for a moment my hope rose. Then it was plummeted to the marble floor beneath my feet as a deep voice called over the noise of the crowd.“It’s about time you two stopped playing games!”The entire crowd roared with laughter, whoops and whistles echoing through the ballroom as Rig turned his head quickly to look at the man who must be his father, but whose face was obscured by the people standing between us. But as his father spoke again—loud enough for everyone to hear—I couldn’t absorb any of it. I couldn&r
~ RIG ~‘Don’t hate me, Rig, please, don’t hate me. He was going to—’I was so stunned, and so angry, it took me a second to pry my head out of Natalie’s grip. But before I could even curse, before I’d even properly straightened, my father’s voice boomed from the dancefloor.“It’s about time you two stopped playing games!”I sucked in a breath and told myself I had to loosen my grip on Natalie’s arms, not break them, as the crowd around us roared.Whoops and hollers rang through the ballroom and over the applause as all of the gathered wolves turned their attention to me and Natalie because my father—my fucking father!—had swung an arm wide to
~ RIG ~“You bastard!”Forgetting Natalie completely, I launched myself across the room, towards Mack, only the tiniest voice in the back of my head screaming that Cara was there and I couldn’t show my wolf!A guttural snarl tore out of my throat and my hands clawed as I went for my oldest friend, who smirked.But Cara shoved Mack aside and stepped between us just as I reached for him and every instinct in my body yanked me to a halt. I couldn’t hurt my mate. Couldn’t touch her in anger.My chest heaved and rasped, “Get out of the way, Cara.”“Don’t tell me what to do you lying fucking cheater!” she shrilled.
~ RIG ~ Natalie gasped as Mack tumbled across the floor, legs flying until he hit the ground with an “Oof!” He’d been caught by surprise, but it didn’t last. He hadn’t even stopped tumbling when he turned the sprawl into a roll and sprang back to his feet, growling, sinking into a defensive stance, hands low and teeth bared. “What the fuck is wrong with you?!” “You are!” I snarled, my voice more than half the growl of my wolf. “It was a fucking bet, Rig! A bet! Why would you—” “She’s not just a bet!” Mack blinked, his eyes widening, then he spluttered a humorless laugh. “Holy shit… you’re catching feelings for a human?!”
~ CARA ~Something was wrong. Something was really, really wrong.As Charlie silently ushered me out of the hotel and into the parking lot, towards the massive, extended-cab truck that he drove, my entire body shook. And not just with tears.Oh, I was crying. But it was rage that shoved the tears over my lashes and down my cheeks, and fury that made my hands sweat.My head spun with it, and my chest was tight. I panted short, shallow breaths and my jaw was clenched so tight I was afraid I’d crack my teeth.I was furious.And heartbroken.And my